If you did not make it to our last Rotary Club of Forest Grove meeting, here is what you missed…

This Week: We hope you join us this week for our weekly meeting on Wednesday in the Grove Room at the Forest Grove School District Offices, 1721 Main St. Robert Abbey will present our program on the Read For A Cause Program.

Because of the catered lunch, an RSVP for meals was required by Saturday, Mar. 1. If you did not pre-order lunch, you are welcome to attend the meeting but please bring your own lunch.

Upcoming Meetings: The remainder of our March meetings, with the exception of the Crab Feed, will take place at Pacific University. We will not have a meeting on Wednesday, Mar. 26.

Crab Feed – Save The Date: This year’s Crab Feed is scheduled for Wednesday, Mar. 19, 5:30 p.m. The evening event serves as our club’s chance to honor our new Paul Harris Fellows and those who have given generously to The Rotary Foundation.

Tickets will be $45 for crab dinner or $25 for a dinner without crab. Crab meat to go will be available for $45 per pound and steaks to will be available for $20 for a pack of two steaks. Orders must be received by Friday, Mar. 14. We hope to see everyone there for a fun evening of fellowship and food and to celebrate our giving to The Rotary Foundation!

Like in years past, we will conduct a dessert dash to help raise funds for The Rotary Foundation. If you are interested in providing a dessert to aid the cause, please reach out to Julia Kollar.

For more information, please contact Crab Feed Committee chair Julia Kollar.

Purchase your Crab Feed tickets now at the following links:
Crab Feed Dinner | Crab Feed Dinner (No Crab) | 1 Lb. Crab Meat To Go | Steaks To Go

Basketball Senior Photos: The club wishes to extend it thanks to Jeff Hoyt for continuing the tradition of providing photos of Forest Grove High School’s senior basketball players for display in local businesses. Thank you as well to our Rotarians who agreed to display the photos in their places of business. At the end of the season, the photos will be presented to the seniors and their families.

Save The Date – Steak Feed: Make sure to mark Friday, June 6 on your calendar for our annual Steak Feed at Pacific University. This is one of our two big fundraisers of the year with proceeds from the evening benefitting our involvement in the Rotary Youth Exchange program. This is an all-hands-on-deck event and we need all of our members to be there and make the event a great success.

As in past years, we will have tickets for club members to sell coming up in a few weeks. Tickets will be $25 and will include a choice New York steak, salad, rolls, beans, drinks and dessert. For more information, contact Steak Feed chair Geoff Faris.

Concours Sponsorships: The Concours Committee is actively procuring sponsors for the 2025 show, which takes place on Sunday, July 20. If you know of a business or individual that might be interested in sponsoring our signature event, please contact Janet Peters at 503-679-6479 or rjlc4peters@msn.com, or Amy Tracewell at 541-844-9467 or amy.tracewell@pacificu.edu.

Pickleball Evenings – Presented By Rotary: The Rotary Club of Forest Grove is helping to sponsor indoor pickleball Monday through Thursday evenings at the Forest Grove National Guard Armory, 2950 Taylor Way. Coordinated by Rotarian Steven Barnard, the evenings run from 5:30 to 8 p.m. There is a $5 fee to help cover facility rental. Players of all ages and ability levels are welcome with reserved courts for beginners and intermediate-level players.

Proceeds from the pickleball evenings go to cover facility rental for the armory, but also to help fund the Forest Grove School District Community Alternative Learning Center’s (CALC) Career & Technical Education (CTE) Fridays. At our Jan. 29 meeting, our club presented a $5,000 check to Tim Graham, principal of CALC, to benefit the program.

For more information on the pickleball evenings, please contact Steven at 443-454-5177 or sbarnard@fgsd.k12.or.us.

Have A Program Idea? Let Hector Know!: Do you have an idea for a program presentation that you would like to see at our meetings? Let our incoming program director, Hector Mendez-Colberg know as he is setting up the schedule for 2025.

Greeters Are Back: President Lucas is bringing back the role of having greeters at our weekly meetings. This role will not be pre-assigned. Instead, the ninth and 10th Rotarians showing up a meeting each week will serve as greeters. Please be prepared to take on that responsibility and let President Lucas know if you have any questions.

Service Opportunities For Club Members
Do You Know Of Service Opportunities?: Are you aware of service opportunities in our area that our members might be interested in? We can advertise those here! This space is not limited to club-sponsored activities but to any service opportunity in the community. To promote the service activity, please send a detailed description of the project, the date and time, contact information and a link to register to Rototeller editor Blake Timm, blakertimm@gmail.com.

CALC Volunteer Opportunities: Forest Grove School District’s Community Alternative Learning Center (CALC) has two volunteer opportunities for Rotarians and friends. The school is looking for volunteers to assist with interviewing students for mock job interviews. There will be another opportunity forthcoming on a victory garden that is being planted at school. Both opportunities will take place at a date to be determined.

If you are interested in either opportunity or if you have questions, please contact principal Tim Graham at 503-730-4490 or tgraham@fgsd.k12.or.us, or Steven Barnard at 443-454-5177 or sbarnard@fgsd.k12.or.us.

FGHS Community Food Pantry: Our club’s support for the Forest Grove High School Food Pantry continues.  Thanks to its partnership with the Oregon Food Bank, food donations are still welcome but are of less need at this time. Of need, however, are toiletries and hygiene products as well as household cleaning materials.

The Food Pantry is open Mondays from 4-5:30 p.m. The pantry is located along Nichols Lane between the football field and the Basinski Center. Click Here for more information on the FGHS Food Pantry and on other resources for those experiencing food insecurity.

For information on the Food Pantry, please contact Brian Burke, bburke@fgsd.k12.or.us. If you wish to make a cash donation to the pantry, Click Here.

Around District 5100
Forest Grove Members In District Roles: Did you know that we have a number of members of the Rotary Club of Forest Grove involved in various levels of District 5100 leadership! These members are continuing to dedicate their time to make our entire district stronger. You could be among them! If you are interested in learning more about how you can be involved at the district governor, contact anyone in the list below.

District Governor: Jeannine Murrell
Area Governor: Blake Timm
Rotary Expo Committee: Court Carrier, Bryce Baker
Awards Committee: Jeannine Murrell (vice chair)
Learning & Development Committee: Amy Tracewell (vice chair)
Nominating Committee: Tom Raabe, Bryce Baker
Public Image Committee: Blake Timm
District Youth Protection Officer: Lori Larson

District 5100 Spring Training – April 12: Mark your calendars for Saturday, Apr. 12, because its time for players to report to Rotary District 5100’s Spring Training — and it’s not just for the pros!

Whether you are a rookie or a seasoned player, this virtual event has required position-specific training and elective courses to help you knock your Rotary skills out of the park.

Swing by from anywhere and get ready to hit the ground running for a winning Rotary season. Don’t let this pitch pass you by — let’s make 2025 the championship year for your club! Stay tuned for registration info soon.

Last Week’s Program: Edith Velazquez & Bailey Thomas, Virginia Garcia Memorial Foundation

At last week’s meeting, we were joined by Edith Velzaquez & Bailey Thomas of the Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center & Foundation. Edith is the foundation’s development manager and has been with Virginia Garcia for about a year. Bailey is one of the foundation’s development officers and has been with Virginia Garcia for two-and-a-half years.

Virginia Garcia was founded in the 1970s in memory of its namesake, a six-year-old girl who was the daughter of farmworkers moving from Texas to California and Oregon to work in the fields. Along the way, Virginia cut her cut and by the time they reached Oregon, the cut became infected. Due to economic, language and cultural barriers, Virginia died from what should have been an easily treatable wound.

Virginia Garcia’s mission is to provide high-quality, comprehensive and culturally appropriate health care to the communities of Washington and Yamhill counties with a special emphasis on migrant and seasonal farm workers and others with barriers to receiving health care.

Since being founded in a two-car garage in Cornelius, Virginia Garcia now serves over 52,000 individuals across Washington and Yamhill counties at six primary care clinics, six dental clinics, five school-based health centers (including one at Forest Grove High School), a reproductive health clinic, an acute care clinic, three mobile outreach clinics and through 10 recuperative beds through its LATS programs.

Virginia Garcia has wellness centers in Cornelius and Beaverton, which provides coordinated care with medical, pharmacy, behavioral health, dental and wellness programs. A third wellness center is currently under construction in Newberg. A clinic will also open sooner in Sheridan to help fill the gap after a major primary care provider in the community closed.

Virginia Garcia’s client base is 98% from low-income households. Approximately 24% of their patients are uninsured, 63% are covered by the Oregon Health Plan & Medicaid, 5% are insured by Medicare and 8% have private health insurance. About 42.7% of patients are 21 years of age or younger and 20% are migrant or seasonal farmworkers.

Virginia Garcia has a Patient Support Flex Fund Program, which helps support patients with health-related social needs. The Pharmacy Cost & Copay Assist Programs provide $25,000 to $30,000 in subsidized medications to uninsured and underinsured patients. The program is 100% covered by private donations. The Workforce Development program has supported 25 graduates in advancing their careers at Virginia Garcia and further supporting their own communities in a clinical capacity. Of the 25 graduates, 84% are Latino.

Virginia Garcia is a Federally Qualified Health Center. The foundation was formed to provide enduring support for the Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center through funding, community relations and through the cultivation of community friendships, partners and donors.

From May to August, the legacy of the Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Clinic will be featured in an exhibit at the Oregon Historical Society.

To learn more, visit virginiagarcia.org.

Club Calendar
Wed., Mar. 5: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Grove Room, Forest Grove School District Office, 1728 Main St.
Program: Robert Abbey, Read For A Cause

Wed., Mar. 12: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Youth Citizens of the Month – Banks

Thurs., Mar. 13: Executive Board Meeting, 7 a.m.
via Zoom

Wed., Mar. 19: Crab Feed, 5:30 p.m.
Forest Grove Senior & Community Center, 2037 Douglas St.
No Noon Meeting On Mar. 19

Thurs., Mar. 20: Board Meeting, 7 a.m.
via Zoom

Wed., Mar. 26: No Meeting

Fri., June 6: Steak Feed, 5 p.m.
University Center, Pacific University

Fri., Jan. 18-Sun., July 20
Concours d’Elegance Weekend